Prodigal children return home, again

Guess where more than one in four college graduates will live after commencement?

That’s right. Back with mom and dad. Comedic portrayals of hapless live-at-home post-collegians aside, such family reunions are eye-openers for all concerned.

“It’s an extra person at the dinner table, that’s for sure,” says Bob Thompson, whose 28-year-old son returned to live temporarily with Thompson and his wife Linda. “He doesn’t deem it to be his personal space. It’s still mom and dad’s house.”

The Thompson’s son and new grads have many reasons for the homecoming — land a job, save for a first apartment or simply get one’s feet on the ground — but living arrangements will be far different from their teenage years.

Bunking in their once-vacant bedroom won’t cut it. Young adults have privacy and self-sufficiency needs that aren’t answered if they share a bathroom, pull up to the same ol’ kitchen table or veg out in the TV room.

And a reconstituted family is a curve ball thrown at newly minted empty-nesters. The American Psychology Association reports most parents quickly adapt to the freedom of being on their own and exploring life as a couple.

Short of giving the boot to adult children, many parents opt for another solution: expand the room or add more space.

Midwest architect Bryan Shiffler says the room doesn’t need to be big “but it does need to offer a semblance of privacy and the ability for the occupant to come and go without interrupting the life of the parents.”

A typical size for such rooms ranges from 150 to 1,000 square feet. That’s tantamount to an efficiency apartment. Within that space can be fashioned a kitchenette, small shower-bath, a sitting area and sleeping quarters. Some parents choose to remove walls between adjoining rooms to create a single large space.

The minimal size for such rooms is affordable if owners choose to tap the equity in their home. Equity is a viable choice in markets where home values have steadily risen. And the need for added space comes at a time when many parents have already substantially paid down their mortgage and have plenty of equity amassed for such projects. Full-blown additions can easily top $100,000 or more with renovations or a “bump-out” in the $40,000 to $75,000 range.

David Rupp, of Bank of America, says parents should remember that renovations do more than simply add space. Improvements such as adding finished space can add value to a home because it increases the appeal to future buyers, Rupp says.

Both Rupp and Shiffler note the rooms can serve other familial purposes once adult children fly the coop for good.